The present invention relates generally to accessories for marine watercraft. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel mounting device for mounting a standard electric trolling motor onto a watercraft using the watercraft's existing anchoring system, thereby allowing for the use of a trolling motor on larger watercraft without requiring any modification to the watercraft or to the trolling motor.
Trolling motors are typically low powered, low speed electric motors used to propel small watercraft. They are comprised of a motor portion, an elongate shaft, and a propeller. The motor portion is located at one end of the shaft and the propeller is located at the other end of the shaft. The motor portion generates the power, which is mechanically conveyed down the shaft to rotate the propeller. During operation, the propeller is placed below the water's surface.
Trolling motors often also comprise an attachment bracket having a pivot means; the bracket is used to attach the trolling motor to the watercraft, while the pivot means allows the trolling motor to be pivoted between two modes: an operational mode, whereby the trolling motor is oriented substantially vertically with the propeller submerged in the water, and a stowage mode, whereby the trolling motor is oriented substantially horizontally with the propeller out of the water. Trolling motors are primarily used for fishing, because they are quiet and can move the watercraft very slowly with little disturbance of the water. They can also be used to more accurately position a watercraft, for example, to facilitate docking. Trolling motors are now frequently used for assisting with anchoring by being integrated with a GPS system, thereby permitting precise positioning of the watercraft. Trolling motors with GPS capability are used to quickly locate, stop over, and remain directly over a school of fish, providing a significant advantage over conventional anchoring in place using an anchor and a long rope (which cannot be used at all in deep water).
Trolling motors are typically mounted onto the watercraft at the bow end, so as to avoid conflict with the primary propulsive motor usually located at the stern end, though stern mounting also occurs. Steering a watercraft with a low powered motor is much easier when the motor is located on the bow of the watercraft rather than on the stern. A bow mounted trolling motor is typically mounted onto the deck of the watercraft, or even onto the bow rail. A stern mounted trolling motor is typically mounted onto the transom of the watercraft, or sometimes onto a swim platform.
With regard to bow mounted trolling motors, the shaft connecting the motor component to the propeller has a sufficient length to allow the propeller to be submerged when the trolling motor is in operational mode only if the watercraft is relatively small. That is, a sixteen or twenty foot long boat has a deck that is fairly low to the waterline, so that the shaft of a deck mounted trolling motor easily reaches the water during operational mode. In even smaller boats, a trolling motor attached to the top of a bow rail is still able to reach the water. These types of boats are typically used on lakes and rivers and near shore on the ocean. However, in larger offshore boats, having a length of twenty-five feet or more, the deck is much higher off the waterline. A standard trolling motor's shaft is not long enough to allow the propeller to be submerged if the motor is mounted on the deck. In order to use a bow mounted trolling motor on such a boat, the trolling motor would need to have a custom made shaft, at great expense. Thus, bow mounted trolling motors are rarely seen on larger watercraft. Stern mounted or swim platform mounted trolling motors might work for larger watercraft, but they tend to interfere with the main propulsive motor, and with regard to swim platform mounted trolling motors, such applications necessarily limit the primary usefulness of the swim platform.
It is thus shown that there is a need for a device that would enable a standard trolling motor to be used on larger watercraft in a bow mounted configuration.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to present a trolling motor mount which can be used to mount standard trolling motors to larger watercraft in a bow mounted configuration.
It is a further object of the present invention to present a trolling motor mount which can be easily attached to a watercraft without the need for tools or modification of the watercraft.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present a trolling motor mount which attaches to the existing anchoring system of a watercraft.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to present a trolling motor mount which may extended for use on different sized watercraft.
Other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent from the description that follows.